Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the (a) scope and (b) remit is of the Treasury review into Financial Ombudsman Service.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Treasury will examine whether the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), is delivering its role as a simple, impartial dispute resolution service which quickly and effectively deals with complaints against financial services firms, and which works in concert with our Financial Conduct Authority which regulates the sector.
The review will focus, in particular, on a range of points that have been raised through the recent Call for Evidence on the Growth and Competitiveness Strategy. This will include addressing concerns around:
The review builds on the announcements the Chancellor made at Mansion House, as well as modernising the FCA’s rules for dispute resolution. As part of the review, the government will consider whether any legislative changes are necessary to ensure that we have a dispute resolution system in the UK which is fit for a modern economy.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent progress her Department has made on the development of digital gilts; and what assessment she has made on their potential impact on the UK financial system.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 18 March 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer launched the procurement process for the pilot Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) issuance.
Following the announcement, HMT and UK Debt Management Office published the first step in the process, which seeks views from industry to inform the development and delivery of the pilot DIGIT issuance. HMT issued a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice through the contract finder service. These publications provide further information on the scope of the pilot and seek views from potential suppliers and the financial services sector, to inform the development and delivery of DIGIT. This includes information on the current landscape of services available or in development in the UK and what potential investors want to see from a DIGIT issuance.
The market engagement exercise is the first step in our process. A formal tendering process is expected to be launched in late Spring 2025, with DLT suppliers being appointed by late Summer 2025.
The government bought forward secondary legislation at the end of the last year that will enable changes to be made to existing regulations relevant to issuing Government debt within the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS). The current regulations may be unsuitable for a digital issuance and need to be temporarily modified to enable an issuance. Our market engagement is also intended to assist with understanding what elements of these laws need to be changed. Any necessary amendments will require HMT to lay a Statutory Instrument.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has a planned timeline for the implementation of digital gilts; and when she expects to lay legislation before the House.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
On 18 March 2025, the Chancellor of the Exchequer launched the procurement process for the pilot Digital Gilt Instrument (DIGIT) issuance.
Following the announcement, HMT and UK Debt Management Office published the first step in the process, which seeks views from industry to inform the development and delivery of the pilot DIGIT issuance. HMT issued a Preliminary Market Engagement Notice through the contract finder service. These publications provide further information on the scope of the pilot and seek views from potential suppliers and the financial services sector, to inform the development and delivery of DIGIT. This includes information on the current landscape of services available or in development in the UK and what potential investors want to see from a DIGIT issuance.
The market engagement exercise is the first step in our process. A formal tendering process is expected to be launched in late Spring 2025, with DLT suppliers being appointed by late Summer 2025.
The government bought forward secondary legislation at the end of the last year that will enable changes to be made to existing regulations relevant to issuing Government debt within the Digital Securities Sandbox (DSS). The current regulations may be unsuitable for a digital issuance and need to be temporarily modified to enable an issuance. Our market engagement is also intended to assist with understanding what elements of these laws need to be changed. Any necessary amendments will require HMT to lay a Statutory Instrument.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department plans to require (a) technology and (b) telecommunication firms to contribute to the cost of (i) fraud prevention and (ii) the reimbursement of victims of fraud on their platforms.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Fraud is a costly crime for citizens, consumers, and businesses.
I welcome existing pledges to prevent fraud made by tech and telecoms firms.
At Mansion House, the Chancellor announced this government would work with tech and telecoms companies to stop their platforms and networks being exploited by criminals.
We are monitoring progress, including work on the second Telecommunications Fraud Sector Charter and implementation of the Online Safety Act.
To balance the requirement on Financial Services to reimburse victims of fraud, Section 72 of the Financial Services and Markets Act enables the sector to manage risk through due diligence checks before releasing payments.
The department will continue to work with the Home Office and Department for Science, Innovation and Technology to unlock further prevention efforts across all sectors in the forthcoming update to the fraud strategy.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent discussions she has had with the Bank of England on the Financial Services Compensation Scheme's compensation limit for (a) consumer and (b) business accounts.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
Eligible deposits held by UK banks, building societies and credit unions that are authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £85,000, with joint accounts protected up to £170,000. This limit is set by the PRA and applies to both retail and business accounts.
The PRA is required to independently review the limit every five years and will be publishing a consultation on the outcome of its most recent review shortly. Any changes to the limit must be approved by the Treasury and the Government would carefully consider any changes proposed by the PRA.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of merging the Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator on costs to the Exchequer.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has carried out important work to support the UK’s world leading payments sector. However, moving forward, the Government wishes to see a more streamlined regulatory environment with minimal overlap between regulators’ responsibilities. That is why the Government has announced its intentions to consolidate the PSR and its functions primarily within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Government will consult on the detail of this proposal in the summer and legislate as soon as possible.
The Payment Systems Regulator is funded by fees levied on industry.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate her Department has made of the cost of merging the Financial Conduct Authority and the Payment Systems Regulator.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has carried out important work to support the UK’s world leading payments sector. However, moving forward, the Government wishes to see a more streamlined regulatory environment with minimal overlap between regulators’ responsibilities. That is why the Government has announced its intentions to consolidate the PSR and its functions primarily within the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Government will consult on the detail of this proposal in the summer and legislate as soon as possible.
The Payment Systems Regulator is funded by fees levied on industry.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when her Department plans to lay the Statutory Instrument for the introduction of the PISCES Sandbox.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
As the Chancellor announced at Mansion House in November 2024, the government intends to lay the statutory instrument which will provide the legal framework for the PISCES Sandbox before Parliament by May 2025.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what discussions she has had with the Bank of England on increasing the proposed eligibility threshold in its consultation on minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL) to £50bn.
Answered by Emma Reynolds - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government is continuing to engage closely with the Bank of England on its recent consultation on its approach to setting a minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities (MREL), which closed on 24 January. The Bank of England sets MREL policy, including the thresholds for MREL, independently in its capacity as resolution authority.
The Government recognises the varied feedback raised by industry, including on the asset-based threshold. The Government’s engagement with the Bank of England has included and will continue to include consideration of this feedback as well as the impacts on economic growth.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much money has been raised from stamp duty charged to UK listed equity transactions in each financial year since 2010.
Answered by James Murray - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)
HM Revenue and Customs does not hold the necessary information on its statistical data systems to separate transactions of UK listed equity and the resulting Stamp Tax on Shares charge from other sources of Stamp Tax on Shares revenue.
However, the majority of Stamp Duty Reserve Tax (SDRT) receipts likely relate to UK listed equity transactions. A timeseries of SDRT receipts is included in Table 1 of the UK Stamp Tax statistics publication available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-stamp-tax-statistics